UK-Proposed UN Resolution for Hodeidah Truce Demands Houthis Halt Missile Attacks

Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (Reuters)
Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (Reuters)
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UK-Proposed UN Resolution for Hodeidah Truce Demands Houthis Halt Missile Attacks

Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (Reuters)
Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (Reuters)

All 15 members of the United Nations Security Council will tackle a UK draft resolution for establishing an immediate and effective truce in Yemen’s key port city, Hodeidah, well-informed diplomats told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The UK proposal demands the Iran-backed Houthi militants halt all missile launches and drone attacks against Yemen’s neighboring states, namely Saudi Arabia, added to the removal of all obstacles inhibiting the delivery of humanitarian aid.

It also called for the fast injection of foreign currency into the economy through the Central Bank of Yemen and more funding for much-needed aid.

Apart from the bloody coup, Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The resolution sets a two-week deadline for Houthis in control of Hodeidah to remove all barriers to humanitarian aid.

They must “facilitate the unhindered flow of commercial and humanitarian food, water, fuel, medicine and other essential imports across the country” from Hodeidah, through which 80 percent of Yemen’s imports flows, the text says.

The resolution also calls on the warring parties to cooperate with UN-brokered peace talks scheduled to begin later this month.

The effort to bring the two sides to talks in Sweden is being led by the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths. Negotiations planned for September did not get off the ground as Houthi leaders refused to attend

The consultations support a series of confidence-building measures aimed at paving the way for talks to end almost four years of war, including the release of prisoners, the reopening of the airport in the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, to commercial flights and strengthening the Central Bank.

All concerned regional parties and countries must continue reducing tensions and refrain from any actions that could undermine political dialogue sponsored by the UN, the draft resolution stressed while recalling the legal obligation for all Member States to comply with the arms embargo stipulated by UNSC resolution 2216.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.